Lakers 105, Bucks 92

LOS ANGELES - Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles admitted as much before the game, that the Lakers would have a decided size advantage over his team down low, which would make the challenge exceedingly difficult.

On a night when the Lakers did not start out shooting the ball very well, they still were much too formidable for the visiting Bucks to handle.

The Lakers improved their record to 17-2, best in the Western Conference, while snapping Milwaukee's modest two-game winning streak.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 20 points. Backcourt mate Derek Fisher chipped in with 19. The front line of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined for 26 points and 23 rebounds.

The Lakers only shot 36.6 percent from the field in the first half but with the starting five missing only one of its nine tries in the third quarter, the Lakers' shooting improved immensely and they finished the game shooting 48.6.

But although he was pleased with the Lakers' defensive effort, Coach Phil Jackson was unhappy with the overall offensive performance.

"We tried to do too many things off the dribble,'' he said.

Lakers rookie Sun Yue made his NBA debut, checking into the game with 5:14 remaining to play. With the crowd imploring him to shoot each time he got the ball, Sun scored on a jump shot, with 1:36 left and then polished off a fast break on the Lakers' next possession, with a lay up.

Although Milwaukee was just starting a three-road trip against a trio of Western Conference teams, Skiles thought the team's pep just wasn't there.

"I thought we had low energy,'' he said. "We did miss a lot of open shots. Our first 25 shots or so, almost 20 of them were wide-open shots. We just couldn't knock them down.''

None of Milwaukee's starters scored in double figures, while five Bucks off the bench reached double figures. Skiles left his starting five on the bench for the majority of the second half, even though Milwaukee only trailed by 12 at halftime.

"We came out in the third quarter, seemed disinterested, so I gave other guys an opportunity to see if they (could) get us back into it,'' Skiles said.

That resulted in a pair of rookies, Joe Alexander and former UCLA player Luc Richard Mbah a Moute topping the Bucks' scoring chart with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.